Nightmares
by Artdirector123
Summary: Part of my big brother william AU Where Hohenheim didn't abandon envy to dante and kept him with him, eventually allowing him to act as a gaurdian to edward and alphonse. 2003 fma. Summary: William wakes up in the middle of the night to find little Edward sitting on his bed, having been the one to wake him. What exactly does the little boy want?


"Hey...hey!" William groaned as something continued to shoved him, "Will! Will!"

"Gruhhh," the homunculus grumbled. He blinked away to the darkness of the night. He could feel something heavy to the side of him.

"Will!" The thing called to him in a distinctly familiar voice. He groggily rolled over and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again he saw his five year old brother leaning over him.

"Edward what-" started before noticing that his little brother's cheeks were shining slightly. He scrunched his brow and sat up. "Were you...crying?"

"N-no..." he said, "Big boys don't cry!"

William raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok...then why are you here?"he questioned.

Edward paused and looked away for a moment before speaking. "Yooouuu...had a nightmare," he answered.

This statement only seemed to make William more confused. He had certainly not been having a nightmare. His dream had actually been rather pleasant. He had been in a nice summery meadow with the boys playing with Winry and her new puppy in the background. "What on earth are you talking about..." he said, "I slept fine..." "Did you have one?" he asked.

"No!" he insisted, "Big boys don't get nightmares." He looked away before looking back up at him expectantly.

It took the sleep-deprived homunculus a moment to realize what he was actually saying. He smirked at the little one's attempt at saving face. "Oh, is that so?"he replied, "Well if you're such a big boy, then why are you still barely a third my size?"

The five year old looked at him with a mix of anger and betrayal. "Graaah!" He cried before blindly trying to attack his older sibling with his tiny fists. "I'M NOT LITTLE!" he shouted, pelting him with his tiny hands.

William laughed before wrapping his little brother up in his arms. "Then why am I able to do this, huh?" he said. He continued to chuckle as Edward squirmed in his brother's arms. When the little boy finally gave up and huffed, William spoke up again. "So Pipsqueak," he said, "Why'd you come here? What was in your dream that was eating at ya so much?" Edward puffed out his cheeks before muttering. "Huh? What was that?" He asked.

"I had a dream that Al and I were all alone," he admitted, causing William's smile to fade, "Mama was gone...Dad was gone...and you were replaced with some monster..." tears started pricking in the boy's eyes.

William sighed before squeezing his brother in a tight hug. "Hey," he said, "It was just a dream, so don't worry. You guys aren't alone, we're all still here." "And don't even worry about me leaving you!" he continued with a smirk, "You're stuck with me forever! I'm never gonna leave you two be!" The little boy giggled as his brother pulled him up into a sitting position and started to muss up his hair.

"You promise that?" he asked as he swatted his elder brother's hand away, "You're not gonna forget about that are you?"

"No way!" he said, "Even when you've got your own family, I'm gonna be around to mess with you. I'll be surprised if you're not sick of me by then!"

"I won't," Edward promised.

"We'll see about that," William chuckled in response, letting his little brother go, "Now get back to bed. Al's probably gonna get lonely with out you snoring in the same room as him and Trisha's gonna freak if she can't find you in the morning."

Edward stuck his tongue out at him. "I don't snore! You do!" he remarked with a mischievous smirk before running back to his room.

William repeated the action back at him before lying back down again...However, he found falling back asleep nearly impossible. It didn't matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't get a particular thought that came to him while talking to his little brother out of his head. Of course he was going to be there for them as long as they live...but they won't be there for him as long as he lives. They were human, every one of them. Their days were numbered and quickly diminishing. How long would his newfound family survive for? Eighty years? Seventy? Fifty? There was no telling how long any of those fragile beings could last. Heck...one of those could get measles or polio tomorrow and that would be the end of it. He frowned and squeezed his eyes shut as he thoughts grew even darker. Even if tragedy didn't strike them, humans didn't last forever, maybe a century at most...Even his dad...

Yes the man had survived centuries this far, but he couldn't keep switching bodies like this...Not that he may even want to when he finally loses Edward, Trisha, and Alphonse...One day, he'll be too weak to do it anymore and he will finally be alone, waiting for time to run out on the miserable planet. "GRAHH!" he shouted throwing his pillow across the room. It knocked several books and scientific instruments off of it and onto the floor with a loud crash. William sat up, breathing heavily for a moment, gripping the sheets so hard that his knuckles turned white. There was a moment of quiet before he curled in on himself and his body was wracked with a quiet sob. His eyes were wet but he refused to let tears fall. He sat alone in his room for several minutes, face buried in his hands...that is until he heard the creak of the door opening.

He turned to it suddenly and saw Edward standing there with a worried and confused look on his face. "Will?" he asked, "Are you alright?" The elder boy didn't respond as he stared at his little brother, still trying to come up with a response. "Did you have a nightmare?" Edward asked.

Will forced a smile before speaking. "No...just a bad thought..." he said.

"Oh..." Edward said. There was an awkward pause between the little boy and the centuries old homunculus. Finally Edward spoke up again. "Do you wanna sleep with me and Al tonight?" he asked, "You can probably fit on the floor..."

Willaim blinked for a moment before his smile became genuine and he chuckled. "I think I'll take you up on that offer," he said as he grabbed his blanket and pillow, "Besides...that bed was too soft anyways." He followed his little brother back to his room and curled up on the floor. Despite the hard floor, he felt himself so much more comfortable around the noises of his little brothers slumbering. He may not have them forever...but at least he as them for now.


End file.
